Like many other methods developed or improved to avoid the spread of COVID-19, telehealth and virtual care had, and still have, a notable impulse during the pandemic period. This review paper aims to provide the necessary tools for the correct use of telemedicine, especially telepsychiatry, considering the most recent recommendations.  This technological way of providing quality healthcare in remote areas can be classified into synchronous and asynchronous according to the real-time connection between both parts of the interaction, such as the patient and the doctor. On the other hand, telemedicine has three types of uses: clinical, administrative, and educational. Telepsychiatry is the term to refer to telemedicine applied to psychiatry. Nowadays, numerous studies have shown that most psychopathologies can be diagnosed and treated through telepsychiatry as it is comparable to the face-to-face modality regarding the validity, reliability, and ability to communicate. However, it would not be indicated in patients with certain characteristics. In most countries, telemedicine (teleradiology, teledermatology, telepsychiatry, etc.) is developing faster than the regulation of laws. It is still necessary to develop an ethical-legal framework for this innovative tool, in addition to making users aware of its benefits, evaluating possible limitations and risks, training the professionals who use it, developing informed consent forms in accordance with the service, among others.

Ruben Ferrero is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, who also has specialized in Legal Medicine graduated from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is currently living in Canada. He has authored and presenter of several scientific publications, including the book Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, for Physicians and other professionals dedicated to Children and Adolescents’ care.